Incubator.



No. 735,305. PATENTED AUG. 4, 1903 W. Pr SHEETS.

INGUBATOR. APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1903.

I 10 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-811E311.

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I W. P. SHEETS.

INGUBATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 13, 1903.

,NO MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET Z- r No. 735,305.

- PATENT Patented August 4, 1.903

OFFICE.

WILLIAM P. SHEETS, OF PRINCETON, MISSOURI.

INCUBATQR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '735,305,-dated August4, 1903. Application filed llpril 13 1903. Serial No. 152,466. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAMP. SHEETS, a citizen of the United States,residing at Prince ton, in the county of Mercer and State of Missouri,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Incubators, of which thefollowing is a specification. I

My invention relates to incubators, and especially to that class inwhich hot water is employed as the heating medium, and has for itsobjects to produce a device of this character which will be simple ofconstruction,

efficient in operation, one in which liability of water failing in theboiler and causing overheating of the latter is reduced to a minimum,one in which the heating-water will be circulated above and below theeggs and into the corners of the incubator-case, thus maintaining auniform temperature, and one in which the liability of cold air becomingconfined in the boiler or water-circulating pipes is minimized.

A further object of the invention is to provide a simple and efficientlamp-supporting bracket which may be readily manipulated topermit theremoval of the lamp.

To these ends the invention comprises the noveldetails of constructionand combination of parts more fully hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of anincubator having my improvements supplied thereto, the cover be ingremoved to expose the interior mechan-I ism to view. Fig; 2 is avertical central longitudinal section through the same. Fig. 3 is avertical transverse section. perspective view of the heating systemremoved from the casing. a

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates the incubator box or chamber,which consists of a front side 2, a rear side 3, ends 4; and 5, a cover6, a main bottom 7, and a supplemental bottom 8. This box or chamber issustained by legs 9 and is provided in its front wall 2 with a door 10.These parts may all be of any suitable or desired construction andmaterial, inasmuch as they, with the exception of. the supplementalbottom, constitute no part of my invention. Y I

My invention resides, primarily, in the water heating and circulatingsystem now to be described.

Fig. 4 is a 1l indicatesthe boiler, which is preferably of ellipticalform in cross-section and is provided with'a central vertical smoke-flue12 and with a horizontal tube 13, which serves "to increase theheating-surface, and with a suitable discharge-cock 14.

15 is a supply-tank which rests normally upon the cover of theincubator-chamber and communicates with the boiler through the medium ofa supply-conduit. 16, the function of this reservoir being to keep theboiler constautly supplied with water to prevent over heating of thelatter and at the same time to obviate liability of the water becomingex hausted from the circulating'pipes with attendant deleteriousresults. The reservoir 15 is provided at its top with an opening 17,which permits escape of steam and obviates iability of the reservoirbursting.

18 indicates a main circulating pipe or conduit, which communicates withthe boiler 11 at its upper end and extends thence through the end wall 5of the casing and along the upper inner face of the end wall 5, theupper inner faces of the sides 2 and 3, and vertically downward at thefour inner corners of the casingat the juncture of the sides and endsand communicates with return pipesor conduits 19, which extend alo'hgthelower innerfaces of the sidewalls 2 and 3, between the main bottom 7 andsupplemental bottom 8 of the casing, and across the lowerinner face ofend 5 and centrally outward through the latter to a point ofcommunication with the boiler .11 near its bottom. Theupper longitudinalsections of the main pipe 18 communicate with each other and with asecondary pipe 20 through the medium of supplemental connecting-tubesZl, which incliue slightly downward from their points of communicationwith the pipe 18 to the points 10f communication with the pipe 20, whichlatter inclines downward from its inner to its outer end, at whichlatter point it communicates with a transverse pipe 22, which extendsalong the inner face of end wall at and connects the vertical sectionsof thepipe 18. In this connection it is to be especially noted that thehot-water conduitslie well up within the corners of theincubator-chamber and also extend above and below the eggcontainingcrates, thus heating the chamber at all points and maintaining a uniformtemperature within the same. It is further to be noted that the maincirculating-conduit communicates with the side wall of the boiler closeup to-its top, whereby any air entering the boiler will escape therefromto the conduit and will in turn escape from the latter through thevalves 23, and that the supplemental bottom 8 of the casing is spaced ashort distance from the front side wall 2 of the latterto permit thewarm air to rise just within the door, thus counteracting any cold airwhich may creep in through the latter.

24 indicates a lamp of any suitable construction, which is provided witha heating tube or chimney 25, projecting upward into the smoke-flue 12of the boiler for heating the latter. This lamp is supported by means ofa bracket comprising an arm 26, pivoted at its inner end to the underface of the bottom 7, and a supporting head or base 27, formed integralorassociated in any other suitable manner with the outer end of thebracketarm. The bracket is sustained and controlled :5 by means of anoperating-lever 28, pivoted at one end to one of the legs 9 of the tableand connected by a link 29 with the bracket-arm 26 at a point adjacentto the head 27. The free end of the lever 28 travels in a suitable guide30, associated in any suitable manner with the outer supporting-leg ofthe table. The free end of the lever 27 is adapted for vertical movementin the guide 30 to lower the bracket and permit ready removal of thelamp 24 therefrom or to raise the bracket for sustaining the lamp inproper position relative to the boiler, and when in this latter positionthe movable end of the lever may be fixed by means of a pin or key 31engaging any one of a series of suitable perforations in the table-leg,said pin when in position being disposed at the lower edge of the lever.

The heating of the boiler is regulated by means of a cap 32, seated overthe upper end of the flue 12 and adapted to be raised or lowered, ascircumstances require, for permitting escape of heat from the flue orconfining the heat within the flue by means of a vertically-adjustablearm 33, associated by an adjusting-screw 34 with the cover 6 of theincubator and connected with the cap 32 by means of a'wire or othersuitable connecting means 35. I

From the foregoing itwill be seen that I produce a device which isadmirably adapted for the attainment of the ends in View; but it is tobe understood that I do not limit or confine myself to the precisedetails herein shown and described, inasmuch as minor changes may bemade therein without departing from the spirit or scope of my invention.

Having thus described myinvention, what I claim is 1. The combinationwith an incubator having a chamber, of a heat-generating device, acirculating pipe or conduit situated within the chamber andcommunicating with the generating device, and a return-conduitcommunicating with the circulatingpipe and with the generating device,said circulatingpipe being formed to extend along the sides and ends ofthe chamber and into the corners thereof.

2. The combination with an incubator having a chamber, of aheat-generating device, a circulating pipe or conduit situated withinthe chamber and communicating with the generating device, and areturn-conduit also communicating with the generating device, saidcirculating-pipe comprising sections extending along the sides and endsof the chamber adjacent to its top and vertical sections disposed withinthe corners of the chamber and communicating with the return-pipe.

3. The combination with an incubator having a chamber, of aheat-generating device, a circulating pipe or conduit situated withinthe chamber and communicating with the generating device, areturn-conduit extending along the sides and ends of the chamber at itsbottom and communicating with the generating device, and a supplementalbottom for the casing overlying the return-conduit, saidcirculating-pipe comprising sections extending along the sides and endsof the chamber adjacent to its top and vertical sections disposed withinthe corners of the chamber and communicating with the returnpipe. I

4'. The combination with an incubator having a chamber, of a boiler, apipe or conduit communicating with the boiler for circulating waterthrough the chamber, a lamp for heating the boiler, and alamp-supporting bracket comprising a bracket-arm pivoted to theincubator-casing and provided with a lamp-sustaining base or head, apivoted lever for adjustably sustaining the bracket, and means forsecuring the lever.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

WILLIAM P. SHEETS.

Witnesses:

J. M. HAYES, T. M. BALLEU.

IIO

